What was Operation Cipher?

The ground shook and the skies trembled. The sun had disappeared and the air was moist. Sprinkled with drizzle, the atmosphere was heavy.

In the blink of an eye, it began to rain. The once blinding yellow light that had shone down from the heavens had vanished.

Corey wondered if the skies could sense it too, what was about to happen. He could.

As he stared at the crumbling gate, his heart began to pound, his fingers reaching up to tug on his collar and brushing his breast pocket along the way. Suddenly he felt trapped, suffocated.

The rain did nothing to help, soaking through his clothes and dropping on his head like stone marbles. Still, he didn't move. Instead, he kept his gaze fixed on what had been the gate of Auro.

It made sense for the city's soil to taste it's first drop of rain the moment it's only completely undamaged structure fell. It was almost symbolic.

Corey wished it was still sunny. The rain was too dreary, the clouds pouring eagerly as though to wash away the disgrace of a city. To erase it permanently from the history books.

The minister loosened his collar, feeling all too constricted in the clothes that now clung to his skin. Now he was lost in thought, his motions almost mechanical as he popped off a few buttons.

How had things come to this?

If the gate had crumbled then there was no doubt that Dawn was there, trapped, fighting—though Corey could not fathom how.

He thought back to the silver pocket watch pressed against the fabric above his heart. Once barely noticeable, now it pressed against his chest like a lead weight, heavy and reminding.

She wants me to use it.

There was only one reason the gate would crumble, and it had nothing to do with the titanic beast that loomed over the city. That systemic breakdown of billions of credits was only possible if Operation Cipher was about to commence. There was no doubt about it.

And the only people who knew the activation codes for the project were him and Dawn.

What is Operation Cipher?

It was a program, North's last resort. It had nothing to do with the code, it had nothing to do with the people. It was all on him.

Then again, it shouldn't be called a weapon. It was a doomsday device.

Only a part of it's blueprints had been leaked two years ago and the council had questioned Corey about it. Back then he had no choice but to allow them keep what they had. The result of this was the massive weaponized satellite orbiting over the North. The same satellite that had been hacked before the capital fell.

The same satellite that obliterated the capital.

It was their own weapon that led to their destruction but it didn't possess even a tenth of the destructive power of what Dawn had intended to build.

If the gate had crumbled then all the conditions for the activation of her weapon had been met.

They had been invaded.
The capital had fallen.
The gate had shattered.
A god was knocking at their doors.

Operation Cipher had been meant to put the North on the map forever. A demonstration of power that would prove that East would never overtake them in terms of military strength no matter how hard they tried.

Corey never thought that he would have to use it to fight off an enemy—in his mind such an enemy didn't exist—but that was why it was made. When he was starting out as minister he had feared this day with a passion. It had been his constant nightmare.

War had been his constant nightmare and now it was coming true.

†

Philip was covered in blood. It dripped from his lashes, splashed on his thighs and spilled—along with some disgustingly rancid flesh—into his mouth.

There was a spluttering ache in his bones that kept him going, kept his hand swinging at carotids and jugulars, at joints and underbellies. He didn't even have time to check on the others and he had no idea where his supposed hostage had ended up in the fray of things.

The messengers bled from the web between his thumb and trigger finger,  the hilt of his dagger settled tightly between the two digits. He briefly remembered opting to tie it to his hand with a piece of cloth before the battle started and what a good decision that turned out to be.

He could count the times he would have been slashed in half, his grip slack as he lost focus for a mere moment. Of course he still had his rifle strapped to his back.

Philip shot the gun when he had time to breathe, the beasts' attacks far and between each time he filled his lungs, shut down his mind and pressed on. He used the lasers to deal heavy blows to beasts that were difficult to cut down but he used it sparingly.

He still remembered Esau and Edythe's warning. There's still something out here. Something that controls all the beasts we're fighting.

Sucking in the sickening but welcomed scent of decay, Philip took a step back. For a moment nothing attacked him and that was good. It gave him time to think.

The horde seemed endless. How long had he been fighting? Hours? Days?

It never seemed to end.

Something brushed Philip's leg and he froze. He could have sworn that he cleared the perimeter. His body tensed.

How in hell did something get this close?

In that moment he knew he was done for, at the mercy of whichever beast was behind him. Anything he could do now would be too slow, though he wasn't sure why he wasn't dead yet, his gun was out of reach and the beast wasn't close enough to his knife.

I just hope they manage to make it out. He thought at last, posture relaxed.

Philip closed his eyes.

"What in blazes are you doing?!" Someone yelled from under him, voice strained to sound above the peals of thunder in the background.

Thunder? Philip opened his eyes and gazed at the sky just a drop of rain fell on his cheek. He thought it was exhilarating, watching streaks of lightning flash through the darkened sky.

In all his life he had never seen nor felt something so beautiful.

Very quickly the downpour began and everything on the battlefield, man, beast and carcass, was awash with rain.

Philip relished the coolness, eagerly using the cold liquid to wipe off the gunk on his face.

Esau watched him with a barely amused expression. "Are you done now?"

"Does this happen often?" Philip asked back in childish wonder, fingers held out to catch the raindrops. "Rain?"

The nine year old boy watched the soldier curiously, wondering why he was choosing now of all times to lose his focus. "You must have lived under a shield your entire life." he concluded.

Philip didn't deny it, his gaze finally leaving the sky and falling on the boy beside him. "For a moment I thought you were a beast," he told the blood covered boy, a sheepish smile playing on his lips.

"Always keep your guard up," Esau warned with narrowed eyes, "these things may go down after a couple of swings but there's a reason they rush you in numbers."

Esau ran his hand through his hair, trying to rid it of the organ bits that were still trapped in it. A shudder of disgust ran through his as his fingers came back bloody. "Come, you're the only one left out here. The beasts have retreated," in response to Philip's stunned silence he pointed to the spot were the soldier had been fighting. Beasts were rushing back to the forest, leaving the house unguarded.

Relief thumped in Philip's chest and he took a step forward. Esau pulled him back.

"I don't think their boss is happy with their retreat, it'll come out soon and deal with us personally." The boy said, his expression solemn. "Let's go."

Philip threw a longing glance at the house before retreating along with the fallen beasts, his hand holding tightly to Esau's as the boy led him to the others.

Military training hadn't prepared Philip for this. He was only eighteen, still a child in some states.

He marvelled at the unchanging expression of Esau's face. The boy acted like all this was normal. Like fighting beasts to escape death was a simple walk in the park, an after school activity.

Philip gulped, his gaze falling on Esau's determined grimace. I swear, him and his sister, they're monsters.

For the first time since he met the boy, he was eternally grateful that he was on their side. Or Code knows where I'd be now. . .

A part of him knew the answer though. . .with a dagger in my chest.

†